Refrigerated showcase



June 30, 1942. E. w. JARVIS REFRIGERATED SHOWCASE Filed Feb. :5, 1941 RE cell/E2 Cnmmrssuz Patented June 30, 1942 REFRIGERATED SHOWCASE Edwin W. Jarvis, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Kold-Kist, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application February 3, 1941, Serial No. 377,126

6 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerated showcases, and more particularly to a refrigerated show and storage case including a display or window section.

In the storage and display of refrigerated foods, and particularly in the display and storage of frozen foods, great difliculty has been encountered in maintaining a proper display of these foods while maintaining the requisite low degree of temperature due to the formation of frost or condensation upon the display windows or transparent sections of such a case. In order to overcome this difliculty, there have been used in the art multiple glass display sections, including three or more separate panes of glass in an effort to prevent the condensation of liquid from the air which interferes with free vision through the transparent window sections.

It is an object of this invention therefore to provide a refrigerated display case adapted for the maintenance of refrigerated food at low temperatures and which includes a display or window section, and wherein means are provided for preventing the formation of frost or the condensation of liquid upon such window or display sections in such manner as to interfere with free vision of the foods as displayed within the case.

Another object of this invention is to provide a refrigerated showcase adapted for the display of foods at reduced temperatures and including a display section, a window section, and means within the display case for the maintenance of a stratified air condition, including a cold or refrigerating air section and a warm or heated air section immediately adjacent the window or display section.

Another object of this invention is to provide a refrigerated showcase having a means for the maintenance of hot air adjacent the interior of the display window or transparent section of the case to prevent the formation of frost or the condensation of liquid thereon.

Another object of this invention is to provide a refrigerated case including a storage and a display section, and means for maintaining the requisite degree of reduced temperature within such case, and a means operably associated with the reduced temperature maintaining means for maintaining heated air adjacent the transparent display section.

Other objects and advantages of this invention it is believed will be apparent from the fol lowing detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerating showcase embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmental sectional end view of a modified form of construction embodying my invention.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of the refrigeration and air heating means embodied in my invention.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, I illustrates an insulated cabinet which may be of any suitable form of construction, including side and end walls which are provided with any suitable form of insulating material 2 and which cabinet provides within its interior a refrigera tion storage space 3 and a display section 4.

While the structure as herein illustrated is generally of rectangular shape, it will be ap parent that my invention is in no way limited to the shape characteristics illustrated.

Mounted within the confines of the cabinet I is a refrigeration unit 5 which may be of any suitable or desirable construction, and which provides a means of circulating a refrigerant through coils 6 supported below the display racks I in the display section 4. The racks l are as illustrated inclined upwardly toward the center-of the display section so as to enhance the display characteristics of the case from the opposite sides thereof. The racks 1 terminate short of the side inner walls 8 of the cabinet I to provide air passages 9. The racks are supported in position by means of spaced brackets 10 which are secured to the side Walls 8 and to the ends of the racks 1.

Means are provided which may be of any desired form of construction for supporting window sections II above the display racks], preferably with the panes of glass or other material form ing the transparent sections inclined upwardly to a peak l2 which terminates approximately centrally of and above the display section 4.

It is not essential in my construction that the means provided for supporting the panes of glass or other transparent material be such as to avoid the passage of air between the edges of the said transparent material and their supporting means, and in fact it is preferable that the supporting means l3 for the upper adjacent edges of the panes ll be such as to permit fiow of air outwardly from the display section for the reasons which will hereinafter be presently set forth.

Mounted within the display section preferably immediately adjacent but above the passages 9 are air heating means l4 which, in this case, are illustrated as conduits I5 through which a heated medium is circulated in order to heat the air to cause the heated air to rise in the display section 4 along and immediately adjacent the under surface of the panes ll so that it will pass out through the loose connection provided by the support l3 in a direction as substantially indicated by the arrows Hi.

In the modified form of my invention as illustrated in Figure 3, there is only one difference in construction illustrated and that is the positioning in the display section 4 of a second sheet or pane of transparent material I! immediately below the panes II in order to form a stratified air passage I 8 through which the heated air must flow in rising along the under surface of the panes II and passing out through the supporting means l3.

This second pane of glass may or may not be employed, as desired, but when employed, slightly increases the efiiciency of the structure as maintaining the heated air immediately below the panes H to prevent the formation of frost or the condensation of water thereon.

The two sections of transparent material ll may be joined together near the apex of the showcase by a connector I9 which also permits flow of air upward between the upper edges of the transparent member I'I so that it may flow out of the case.

In order to maintain a circulation of heated fluid through the coil I5, and also to increase the efiiciency of the refrigerating unit 5, I prefer to employ a refrigerating unit which includes a compressor 20, a heat extracting radiator 2|, a refrigerant receiver 22 connected through a conduit 23 having an expansion valve 24 therein, with the refrigerating coil or coils 6. This type of refrigerating unit is commonly employed in the art and employs one of many forms of compressible gas refrigerants which on expansion take heat from the surroundings. The expanded refrigerant is drawn from the coil 6 into the com pressor 20 and is there compressed.

Normally in the operation of these units, the compressed refrigerating gas passes through the radiator 2| where the heat is extracted therefrom by the flow of air over the fins 25 and then the relatively cool refrigerant is returned to the receiver 22 before passing through the conduit 23 and expansion valve 24. The work required to be performed by the radiator 2| is therefore to extract the heat from the refrigerant which has been taken up by the refrigerant in the expansion coils 6 and which heat is also imparted to the refrigerant during its compression by the compressor 20,

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, the compressed refrigerant gas is taken from the head 26 of the compressor at which time it contains the maximum of heat and is circulated through the heating coil [5 to provide the heating means I4 for heating the air immediately adjacent the lower edge of the transparent panes l I. The heated refrigerant thus gives up a portion of its heat to the cooler air at this point increasing the emciency of the refrigerating unit by reducing the amount of work, required to be done by the radiator 2|, and at the same time provides the heat required for heating the air immediately adjacent and below the transparent pane sections ll. After circulating through the hot coils IS, the then relatively cool refrigerant is returned to the radiator 2| which then may act as far as required, to extract further heat from the compressed refrigerant before it is delivered to the receiver 22.

The display racks I provide the means upon which the articles to be displayed, such as frozen foods, are supported.

I have discovered that by the maintenance of air circulation within the cabinet I that I am able to maintain a condition of Stratification so that below a certain position as indicated for example by the dotted line 21, I am able to maintain temperatures requisite for the maintenance of the frozen food indicated at 28 upon: the racks 1, maintaining the temperature near 0 F., or at such temperature as may be desired or required for the maintenance of the food in its frozen condition. This I am able to accomplish because the natural crculation of air is such that the relatively cold air produced because of the refrigerating coil 6 tends to flow downwardly and will thus flow in the direction indicated by the arrows 29 downwardly and through the air passages 9 into the storage compartment 3 where it will apparently, as its temperature rises,

rise upwardly near the center of the storage section, the circulation being maintained at both sides of the storage space 3 in substantially the same manner.

As air is heated by the heating means M, which may be of any suitable or desirable character sufficient to transmit sufficient heat to the air at this point, the heated air rises upwardly in the cabinet, tending to follow the under surface of the inclined transparent panes ll, passing out of the cabinet through the supporting panes II in the,direction indicated by the arrows I6.

The direction of circulation of the. heated air is indicated in the cabinet by the arrows 30.

The cabinet, and particularly the display section, is not airtight because of course with circulation of air out of the cabinet it must be possible for air from the exterior to circulate into the cabinet to replace that which passes out. Therefore the connections of the panes II at their lower ends may also be such as to permit air circulation around the lower ends of the panes ll. Circulation also may be permitted at any other point into the display section 4. The return circulation of the cold air as indicated by the arrows 29 is permitted at the ends of the cabinet I and the display racks I terminate short of the ends to provide an air passage at this point.

In actual practice I have found that I am able by this method to maintain the stratified zones of temperature within the display section 4 including the freezing zone 3|, which is below the dotted line 21, and a relatively hot section 32 above the dotted line 27. As the air on the opposite sides of the panes H may therefore approximate the same temperature or be above the temperature at which condensation of moisture from the air, of course it will be apparent that the panes ll themselves are not cooled to such a degree that condensation will form upon either their interior or exterior surfaces.

The specific example of my invention herein set forth I have found to be eflicient in carrying out my invention. It will be apparent, however, that this is merely an illustration of a specific construction in that my invention is not in any way limited to the use of one or more angularly disposed display racks and is also not limited to the construction of a display cabinet or section permitting vision from both sides.

The specific illustration of the invention given also includes the particular spacing of the dis play racks in order to obtain a particular type of air circulation. This is advantageously employed in this type of structure but is not essential to the operation. I am able to obtain a stratification of the temperature zones above the display rack even where the display racks extend to the side and end walls, preventing the type of circulation as shown.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the details herein set forth, but my invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerated display case, the combination of a display rack, transparent members disposed over the display rack, refrigerating means disposed below the display rack, the display rack being positioned in the case to provide an air passage at its edge adjacent the inner wall of the case, the transparent members being inclined upwardly over said display rack, and means for heating the air adjacent the lower position of the transparent members so that heated air flows upwardly along the inner surface of the transparent members.

2. In a refrigerated display case, the combination of a display rack positioned within the display case in an elevated position and spaced from the side walls thereof, said display rack being composed of a pair of supporting shelves angularly disposed downwardly from the center of the rack, refrigerating means mounted below the display rack, the case having a transparent display section above the display rack, said transparent display sections being positioned in angular relation with the apex of their angle disposed over the display rack, and means located adjacent the lower portion of the display sections for heating air so that the same will flow upwardly along the inner surface of the transparent display section.

3. In a refrigerated display case, the combination of a display rack positioned in said case in position below a window section, refrigerating coils below the display rack, means within the case for heating air adjacent the window sections, and means for venting the heated air.

4. In a refrigerated display case, the combination of a display rack positioned in said case in position below a window section, refrigerating coils below the display rack, a refrigerating unit including means for circulating and permitting expansion of a gas refrigerant to said refrigerating coils, means for compressing the expanded refrigerating gas, and means for circulating the hot compressed refrigerating gas adjacent the lower portion of the window section, and returning the same to the refrigerating gas circulating means.

5. In a refrigerated display case, the combination of a display rack positioned in said case in elevated position and spaced from the side walls thereof, refrigerating means below the display rack, air heating means above the display rack and in position to heat air adjacent the display sections of the case, and means for venting the heated air.

6. In a refrigerated display case including a cabinet providing display and storage spaces, an inclined display rack positioned in the display section, refrigerating means positioned immediately below the display rack, the display rack having a window section permitting viewing of articles upon the display rack, a heating means positioned in the display section for heating the air adjacent the display window, and means near the upper end of the window section for venting the heated air.

EDWIN W. JARVIS. 

